How do you bargain down hotel prices?

[Obsession 571]

I have read a few people saying they negotiated a hotel discount.How low an offer would they be likely to accept? Apart from asking a monthly rate, the only time I tried to bargain on a BMs advice in Bkk, I had to leave with my tail between my legs, mortified.

Advice please.

[js007 795]

It has been years ago (2002?), but I used to put in lowball offers for Bangkok hotels via the Priceline Hong Kong web site. I got some great deals that way. For example, I think I stayed at the JW Marriott for around $60. Some for the Westin on Sukhumvit. You put in your bid and wait. Either they take it or they don't. If so, you've just purchased the room for the requested nights.

[teelack 9,628]

I have read a few people saying they negotiated a hotel discount.How low an offer would they be likely to accept? Apart from asking a monthly rate, the only time I tried to bargain on a BMs advice in Bkk, I had to leave with my tail between my legs, mortified.

Advice please.

 

Perhaps the first rule is to find out the actual site that was set up by the motel as there is no chance of bargaining with second tier parties.

 

The second is to offer them the entire length of your stay as a bargaining chip.

 

Always check out the monthly rate. It might turn out less than going for say 20 plus days.

 

Give them approx dates. I note that low season starts in some places March and some April for instance. Also if they are empty at the required time perhaps...

 

Finally if it fails I always say thank you very much and that I will drop in and look at the rooms the next time I am in town. Never shut the door.

[Obsession 571]

It has been years ago (2002?), but I used to put in lowball offers for Bangkok hotels via the Priceline Hong Kong web site. I got some great deals that way. For example, I think I stayed at the JW Marriott for around $60. Some for the Westin on Sukhumvit. You put in your bid and wait. Either they take it or they don't. If so, you've just purchased the room for the requested nights.

Thanks. I had tried one of those sights before, but didn't have any luck with it. I might try again.

 

Perhaps the first rule is to find out the actual site that was set up by the motel as there is no chance of bargaining with second tier parties.

 

The second is to offer them the entire length of your stay as a bargaining chip.

 

Always check out the monthly rate. It might turn out less than going for say 20 plus days.

 

Give them approx dates. I note that low season starts in some places March and some April for instance. Also if they are empty at the required time perhaps...

 

Finally if it fails I always say thank you very much and that I will drop in and look at the rooms the next time I am in town. Never shut the door.

 

I may have completely misunderstood , but I got the impression that the bargaining was done in person. I thought Dontcha, and others booked a place for arriving and then checked out other places and seemed to get some good prices.

[Dr Mick 111]

I use AsianRooms.com at times have good discounts,better than the hotels own web sites.

 

But also if you use a smaller private hotel/guest house many times and good customer ,sure some will offer some discount for you as being a good customer.

 

But I beleive if you walk off the street and book hotel on the spot you will always have to pay the higher asking price,this is what i have found.

[9cisco999 107]

It has been years ago (2002?), but I used to put in lowball offers for Bangkok hotels via the Priceline Hong Kong web site. I got some great deals that way. For example, I think I stayed at the JW Marriott for around $60. Some for the Westin on Sukhumvit. You put in your bid and wait. Either they take it or they don't. If so, you've just purchased the room for the requested nights.

 

 

 

I don't know if it's still the case but a few years ago I tried using Priceline and lowballed a few times for a hotel room and the system locked up. A notice popped up on the screen telling me I could not use the bidding system for a certain period of time. I suspect this is in place to prevent finding the threshold price.

 

 

 

 

 

AGODA ® is a registered trademark of AGIP LLC, used under license by Agoda Company Pte. Ltd.
Agoda is part of Priceline (NASDAQ:PCLN)

Edited November 10, 2011 by 9cisco999

[Dr Mick 111]

Just been looking how much for room at Sabi Resort

 

On Asia.com the price for superior room in Nov is 1550 bhts night is this the normal price if i booked direct to hotel ????

 

 

Strange just looked again and price in 2 minutes now says 1300 bhts night

 

So by 2 minutes thats 250 bhts saving a night

 

Just looked at Sabi Lodge own web site says for same room above price reduced from 1950 to 1450 now

 

So it looks booking with Asia .com would be better than booking direct with hotel

[teelack 9,628]

Thanks. I had tried one of those sights before, but didn't have any luck with it. I might try again.

 

 

 

I may have completely misunderstood , but I got the impression that the bargaining was done in person. I thought Dontcha, and others booked a place for arriving and then checked out other places and seemed to get some good prices.

 

I dont see it that way. By buying ahead it gives me the opportunity to lock in my accommodation at a price I want to pay and do all the homework that I want on the Internet before I step foot in the door. Also if I am dealing direct I need not pay till after the trip unlike the agencies such as Agoda that want money up front. This then also gives me the option of cancelling if I find something better.

 

In the last month I emailed a hotel with my dates etc having first checked the rates on the internet. Sure enough he came back with an offer of a 10% reduction-about a 100baht a night. I followed up on here and found that the place was definatly not recommended by members so I said thanks but no thanks.

[Obsession 571]

I dont see it that way. By buying ahead it gives me the opportunity to lock in my accommodation at a price I want to pay and do all the homework that I want on the Internet before I step foot in the door. Also if I am dealing direct I need not pay till after the trip unlike the agencies such as Agoda that want money up front. This then also gives me the option of cancelling if I find something better.

 

In the last month I emailed a hotel with my dates etc having first checked the rates on the internet. Sure enough he came back with an offer of a 10% reduction-about a 100baht a night. I followed up on here and found that the place was definatly not recommended by members so I said thanks but no thanks.

 

I am wary of booking places I haven't viewed though, since the Skytop ( newly refurbed ) debacle. I would prefer to book any old rubbish for 2 days and look around, as I thought others seemed to do.

 

I like the thought of bargaining, faceless, through the internet though. I do that with properties. Bargain from behind the agent lol. Us Brits have a phobia about some types of bargaining!

[CheshireTom 1,377]

I dont see it that way. By buying ahead it gives me the opportunity to lock in my accommodation at a price I want to pay and do all the homework that I want on the Internet before I step foot in the door. Also if I am dealing direct I need not pay till after the trip unlike the agencies such as Agoda that want money up front. This then also gives me the option of cancelling if I find something better.

 

In the last month I emailed a hotel with my dates etc having first checked the rates on the internet. Sure enough he came back with an offer of a 10% reduction-about a 100baht a night. I followed up on here and found that the place was definatly not recommended by members so I said thanks but no thanks.

 

There are several sites where you can book ahead without paying any more than a booking fee up front - ratestogo is an example. If you then want to leave earlier it's just a case of giving 24 hours notice to avoid any cancellation fees. As an aside, the price shown in the initial search includes service and tax - not the case with Agoda and, I must admit, that irritates the shit out of me.

 

As a rule of thumb, I'm happy to use an agent to get a decent discount for 4/5* places, but tend to deal direct with the hotel for 3* joints.

 

 

 

[Obsession 571]

 

but tend to deal direct with the hotel for 3* joints.

 

How do you go about that, mate? Pay what they ask? Or is their room for bargaining?

[CheshireTom 1,377]

How do you go about that, mate? Pay what they ask? Or is their room for bargaining?

 

There's room for bargaining - more so than when they are constrained by the corporate policies at the upper end of the business. Remember, it's not only about price per se ... the extras like a couple of breakfasts thrown in (or removed), late check-out/early check in, internet access, bulk laundry etc etc all mount up and can affect how you perceive your stay. Main thing to remember ... keep smiling.

 

 

 

[Gary 4,118]

I used to stay at the Regency on Soi 22 in Bangkok. I knew a girl who worked there and she was always able to get me a good price. After she left, I looked on the Internet for a price and it was a couple hundred baht more than what I had been paying. I got to the hotel and they refused to give me a discount and told me that if I want the Internet price, I would have to book via the Internet. Their rack rate was about 500 baht more than the Internet rate.

 

Sometimes you can get a discount and sometimes you can't. It depends on the hotel. If I walk in I always ask for a special price (discount) but the chain hotels are not likely to lower their price.

[gaijin 146]

I walked into the Amari Nova to bargain once and got them from 4000 baht for a 1 bedroom suite down to ~2500 baht per night. Still a bit expensive for me but I did get a tour of the room and it was REALLY nice. I ended up staying at the View Talay 6.

[js007 795]

I don't know if it's still the case but a few years ago I tried using Priceline and lowballed a few times for a hotel room and the system locked up. A notice popped up on the screen telling me I could not use the bidding system for a certain period of time. I suspect this is in place to prevent finding the threshold price.

 

 

 

 

 

AGODA ® is a registered trademark of AGIP LLC, used under license by Agoda Company Pte. Ltd.
Agoda is part of Priceline (NASDAQ:PCLN)

 

 

As for the Priceline system "locking up" for a certain amount of time after an unsuccessful bid, that used to be the way the USA Pricline system worked. BUT, if you used the Hong Kong Priceline site, you could immediately rebid after a rejected bid. So, you could just start low and work your way up. I'm not sure it still works that way, though.

[Obsession 571]

I walked into the Amari Nova to bargain once and got them from 4000 baht for a 1 bedroom suite down to ~2500 baht per night. Still a bit expensive for me but I did get a tour of the room and it was REALLY nice. I ended up staying at the View Talay 6.

 

Nice one Did you have prior knowledge that someone had paid the lower price, or did you just chance it? I would find that a bit uncomfortable to do , but in the UK we just tend to pay what hotels ask, no bartering. It can be difficult to break out of that comfort zone, especially when the first time I tried was a disaster, with me leaving with nowhere to stay lol.

[telmah 0]

One thing i would say is don't walk in with your bags looking for a room that night.

Last month i booked Eastiny 7 for 3 nights on the net and when i arrived i called into Flipper Lodge and said i needed a room in a couple of days time for 7 nights if i got a good price.Receptionist recognised me from previous stays and said she could give me 20 per cent off.It can depend on low/high season too of course.

[gaijin 146]

Nice one Did you have prior knowledge that someone had paid the lower price, or did you just chance it? I would find that a bit uncomfortable to do , but in the UK we just tend to pay what hotels ask, no bartering. It can be difficult to break out of that comfort zone, especially when the first time I tried was a disaster, with me leaving with nowhere to stay lol.

 

No actually I just happened to ride by to check out KTK and recognized the name of the place, and chanced it. I had also stopped by August Suites and April Suites, August was all booked, April had many rooms available as they were still new then. This was back in Feb. '11. I bargained the April room from ~2500 down to 2000. I probably would have taken it it weren't for View Talay 6 had a cancellation and I swooped that up right away, that was a great decision. The Amari Nova room was extremely fancy, but I wanted the room for 2000 baht or less and the receptionist had gone down as low as she could I believe. Probably couldn't give it to me for 2000 because all their studio rooms were booked, and only had the 1 br available, some people were probably paying more for the studio than what she offered the 1 br to me. If I had gotten it down to 2000 baht that would have been a hard decision versus the View Talay 6 room.

 

The key to bargaining for hotel rooms is to always have other options available. I was already staying at the Residence Garden and am quite content with it. So if nothing worked out I wasn't going to be ass out on the Sois. Don't show that you love the room or that you must have the room, show a little interest that you want it, but only on your terms, and be prepared to walk. When the pretty Amari Nova girl first told me 4000 baht I gave a real mortified look, and just countered with 2000 baht and held there, and I really wasn't prepared to pay more than that especially for so many nights. I totally woulda asked her if her sweet little ass came with the room if it weren't for others standing behind me in line!

For 1-2 nights though, I'm splurged and paid monstrous prices, high end cabin room in Lake Tahoe ski resort, suite in LAs Vegas, etc.

[Rickster59 70]

So is the general consensus that it is best to book through the internet?

I have had a similar situation to Obsession......tried to bargain at the Hotel and ended up with no room......had to go elsewhere due to pride taking a massive hit!

 

Gaijin...I have stayed at August Suites (very nice)...but not heard of April Suites....where is it located?

[teelack 9,628]

So is the general consensus that it is best to book through the internet?

 

 

The caveat that I put on it is as follows. If I see or hear about a place that I fancy I check the prices at both say Sawadee/Agoda and then with the hotels own web site. See who is having you on. By the way with Agoda never forget to go to the end of the booking transaction as they add something like 10/15% over all for Vat etc.

 

As I have also pointed out you normally need not pay a deposit if you are dealing with the hotel direct whereas it needs to be paid in full before you get there on some of the booking sites. Someone here mentioned that Ratestogo.com did not do this however I found that there prices were a bit steep so the bottom line is that there are deals out there but you need to do your homework.

 

I also noted the following earlier this year. I saw a web price lower than a direct one and got back to the hotel direct but I could not get them to lower the price to the best rate on the go. I was told, " I lose money every time someone uses that site" Ha! Go figure.

Edited November 20, 2011 by teelack

[gaijin 146]

So is the general consensus that it is best to book through the internet?

I have had a similar situation to Obsession......tried to bargain at the Hotel and ended up with no room......had to go elsewhere due to pride taking a massive hit!

 

Gaijin...I have stayed at August Suites (very nice)...but not heard of April Suites....where is it located?

 

April Suites is right behind August Suites, down some smaller soi I don't know what, if you were to ask at August they'll be happy to show you.

 

I had a list of hotels to check out and bargain with when I went out one afternoon to do so. I also ride a motobike so I get around pretty fast. Sure some hotels are booked up quite a bit and will have no problem turning away potential customers, but if they have lots of vacancy and are trying to fill rooms, then I'm sure they'll be willing to come down some.

[FH123 0]

So is the general consensus that it is best to book through the internet?

I have had a similar situation to Obsession......tried to bargain at the Hotel and ended up with no room......had to go elsewhere due to pride taking a massive hit!

 

Gaijin...I have stayed at August Suites (very nice)...but not heard of April Suites....where is it located?

 

I've stayed at August Suites 3 times since 2010 but decided to try April Suites during my last visit (Oct 2011). I was happy with the hotel - it's brand new and very quiet. The walls are a little thin but with the constant humming of the AC, it will drown out any sounds from adjacent rooms.

 

I suggest you check out Agoda and also send an email to April Suites for their rates. I booked my hotel through Agoda because it was cheaper.... I paid 1500 baht (this rate included fees and taxes) for a deluxe room versus 1750 baht that April Suites quoted me in the email.

[dontcha 53]

It is not rocket science how to get decent rooms at a discount rate.

During your trip you keep your eyes open for a new hotel opening.

You go in and tell the people when you will be back on your next trip.

If you like the place tell them you like it but it is a bit too expensive and ask them if they can give you a discount for a longer stay ... always look disappointed with their discount and say that you would love to stay but it is too expensive ... they usually make you a good offer.

Lets say the rack rate is 1400 baht and they finally offer you 1100 you then say I can only pay 1000 ... most places will agree but you most likely will lose out on the free breakfast before 11.00am ... who gets up for breakfast.

Make sure you have 5 or 6 options.

Hotel rooms never look as good as the pictures on the website ....the hotel room brokers wont get you a cheaper rate unless you are a shit negotiator .

I bargain for almost everything in Thailand ... Thais are shocked at people that pay their original asking price.

Too many empty rooms to be paying the asking price.

[teelack 9,628]

Hotel rooms never look as good as the pictures on the website ....the hotel room brokers wont get you a cheaper rate unless you are a shit negotiator .

.

 

Well said Dontcha.This is one of the great reasons for taking time out on a trip to walk around and look at whats on offer.

 

There is one very will situated hotel that I fancied. Rooms were fine but there was no cover at the pool area. I would have burned to death.

 

Another place had wonderful grounds and great location but the rooms were so basic I didnt bother.

 

Yet another had villas for 200/300 baht a night extra but for me they were worse than the rooms.

 

The maps and stated locations of Pattaya can also trip you up. Pattaya Beach can be a long way from the hotel.

 

I had a look round a well situated hotel last time and beside the room being small I think there was space for only one chair on the so called balcony!

 

I am not sure what the bottom line is. Ideally you will only take carry on luggage, book somewhere and have a walkabout and see whats on offer. Its easy to book for a couple of nights and then move espescially if you have little luggage to take with you.

 

Stayed in the best location in town. Great place, great grounds and pool. 1000 baht joiner fee!

 

 

I realise that this is not really about negotiating but it is a reason to consider rocking up to the reception and asking for a deal at a hotel that you have inspected and this is sometime better than a good monetary deal.

[Gawd Elpus 798]

From my experience, the best time to bargain is during low season, when the hotels and guest houses are less full. Xmas and New year, everything goes up anyway, and its much harder to find vacancies, unless you book ahead. Long stay is always more negotiable, IMO as they know that the room will be occupied on a daily basis over a period of time, where as it could be empty for 50% of that period, otherwise.

 

I always stay at the same place, and have done so for the last 7 years. As a regular customer, I can always get a discount agreement, via email and always guarantee that the booking will not fail or that there are any hidden costs.

 

Many hotels are reluctant to give discounts, as, if word gets around at the side of the swimming pool etc, that one customer is paying less than another, then others will ask for it too.

 

I remember, many years ago I was staying in a hotel in Kata beach for a few days. It was just a stop gap, but most of the guests there were on a package trip. I got talking to a few of them at a bar, and told them how much I was paying. When they worked out what it would have cost, had they booked everything themselves including the flight, they realised that they were being charged double the rate that they would have paid if they had either booked themselves or just turned up. .